Lilianne and James
by The Seventh Year Gryffindor
Summary: This is not the classic Evans and Potter story. It is a fresh storyline based in the Hogwarts dimension. Lilianne and James: unexpected love, confusion, lessons in life.
1. The introduction

Lilianne Evans was sitting in front of her vanity in the same room she shared with her dorm mates in her 5th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft in Wizardry. She was calmly putting on the final touches of her costume. The whole school was in a flurry for that night's activities; there was to be a Halloween concert that was much anticipated.

Lilianne was a strong girl of about 5 feet 9 inches. She had long, luxurious, red hair that fell down her back and wisped around her face. Her deep chocolate eyes were always sparkling with mischief and excitement for life. While Evans was not a stick thin weed, she possessed a full figured frame that swayed slightly from side to side when she walked. But she usually never chose to walk when she could run. She bounded from step to step on the stairs, skipping every other one so that she could reach her destination faster.

She stood up to go gather in front of the full length mirror her friends were all primping in front of. They had all chosen to be characters from a muggle television show called, "Friends". Lilianna had opted to dress as Monica, a quirky character who's behavior she was often teased for imitating. She looked over and saw her friends Ellie, dressed as Joey. On the far side, brushing her blond hair was Andelle, whom everyone called Andy. Marsha was on the floor pouting and pulling at the ridiculous beard she was sporting. And in the middle was Katherine, finishing the entirely too complex process of putting on her makeup. They were missing one person to play the last person to play the character Ross. It would have to do.

Lilianne was always close to her sister, Jana. Jana was her best friend with a wild, crazy streak. They two girls were inseparable, even with their famous tempers and mismatched personalities. The summer before, Jana had a terrible accident and was sent away to recover in a facility in Australia. Lilianne felt completely alone. She had never been without her twin. As a result, she had spent the first 5 years of her Hogwarts career, never really bonding with other friends in her year. It was slightly awkward and frightening at first to open up to these girls who she had shared a room with for 5 years without really getting to know them. But she had no choice, Jana wasn't coming back with her, and it was time to make some new friends. But fortune was on her side, for they were one of the most big-hearted individuals anyone could ask for and accepted her into the circle without question.

"Ellie, is there Mr. Certain Someone coming tonight?" teased Andy, knowing the exact answer to her question.

Blushing, Ellie answered sheepishly, "Yes, and he's bringing his other friends as well."

"Alright!" Lilianne cheered, never giving up a chance to meet new boys, "and who is this young man that you two are discussing?"

"Ellie has a crush on a 7th year named James, and we're pretty sure he likes her back," replied Marsha who always had some tidbit of gossip to offer.

"Whatever, can we just go?" complained Katherine. Taking this cue, the girls took one last look at the mirror and set off for the Great Hall. They were immediately approached by a sizeable group of 7th year boys who took it upon themselves to rowdily greet the girls. The rest of the girls had already been on multiple excursions with these boys, while this was Lilianne's first time meeting any of them. The leader of the group was a relatively tall and sleekly built figure with clear aqua-colored eyes. To his right stood a rather large boy named Remus. Sirius bounded up on his left and came to attack everyone with a warm hug and intense enthusiasm for the band that was to play that night. Peter stood at the far end, lighting up a cigarette.

"Gentlemen, this is Lilianne," announced Andy to introduce the new girl to all of the guys.

"Hey, my name's James," he came up and shook Lilianne's hand. The instant their eyes met, an unexpected spark flew between the two while their eyes played an intense match of wills. His eyes uncomfortably bore into hers as she struggled to return it. It was broken by the rest of the boys following suit to bombard her with hugs and welcomes. The night had begun. The candles began to dim as the area around the stage began to glow. _The Happy Pumpkins_ were on the stage. As they were playing marvelously through their set, James and Remus grabbed Lilianne and pulled her into the area in front of the set. The boys began to dance madly, inviting her to join in as well. She was laughing too hard to really realize what to do or how to politely decline the offer to look like a wild, dancing, monkey. Nevertheless, she ended up getting into it, having too much fun to care what she looked like. It was the first time she truly let go of herself since Jana's accident. During the break between _The Happy Pumpkins_ and the next band, the trio went back to the tables to grab a drink and their breaths. They were soon joined by their friends.

"Aren't they amazing??" Sirius gushed shamelessly as he

"They were pretty good," admitted Andy.

"Pfft, 'pretty good' does not begin to cover it, lady," retorted Sirius.

"Ha, whatever, the rest of us just aren't in love with them, that's all," Andy said waspishly.

"Well, I'm going to go outside for a second, it's just too hot in here," interrupted Lilianne as she excused herself. She walked out to the balcony and stared at the moon, the bright light pouring into its dark contrast.

"So you danced up a storm back there," commented James as he came up from behind her.

Lilianne laughed as she replied, "I felt like the world's biggest fool."

"Dance like no one's watching. It doesn't matter what you look like as long as you enjoy yourself?" he said.

"I suppose, it was very fun, but it helped that the music was so incredible as well," agreed Lilianne. She was intrigued by this guy's interest in her, but managed to convince herself that it was a miscalculation. He was just a friendly person who wanted to make her feel welcome, not truly interested in her. James was most definitely supposed to be attracted to Ellie. The pair went inside to join their friends for the next two sets. The evening ended a success as everyone trudged to their beds, fully exhausted.

As Lilianne laid in bed listening to the other girls gossip about the night's events, her thoughts kept going back to James. She eventually drifted off to sleep amid the intense discussion of Andy's rather stiff efforts with Peter and Remus's apparent interest in Katherine.


	2. The Beginning

Lilianne woke up to the sound of girls dashing about the room collecting last pieces of homework and brushing hair. She rose from bed and plodded to the bathroom. After taking a deliciously awakening shower, she headed down to breakfast. When she got there, she joined her friends and began devouring the wonderful smelling pancakes.

"I cannot believe that we have lessons right after last night," complained Marsha.

"Oh, shut your load," exploded Katherine. She was never very good in the morning.

"Anyone know what we have first?" asked Lilianne, quite diplomatically.

Andy replied for her, "Potions. It's almost enough to make me cry". Soon after this announcement, the girls all stood to get to class. During their daily hallway gossiping, they ran into the gang of guys that they were so acquainted with the night before. Everyone around them exchanged hellos and greetings except Lilianne and James. Again, their gaze was broken by the crowd pushing the two groups away from each other. The girls reached the dungeons and hurried to take their seats. It was at random moments like these when Lilianne felt occasional pangs of missing her sister. Katherine and Marsha always paired up as did Andy and Ellie. Lilianne never knew who she was going to sit with. Most of the time, she sat alone while the other girls tried to include her in their gossip, although this was highly difficult with Professor Snape breathing down your back.

"Settle, settle," came from the silky and oily voice of Professor Snape. The classroom immediately fell into a hush. Lilianne reached in her bag to take out her book when she felt something unfamiliar in her bag. She pulled it out set it on the table to examine it.

The unidentified _something_ was a book. It looked like a rather private diary. It was about the size of Lilianne's hand and was covered in crimson velvet. There was a golden lock on the book that prevented anyone from opening it. It was beautifully made with minute shimmery swirls on the side. After turning it over again and again looking for a way to open the book, Lilianne resigned herself to putting it away and actually pay attention to the lesson.

The book would not leave her thoughts alone, Lilianne became obsessed with trying to figure out how to open it. She was unable to answer the questions her friends asked her about it and she would bring it everywhere she went, to meals, Quidditch games, even the loo. One day, she was sitting on the ledge outside the Astronomy tower, watching the rain fall softly in front of her, she was startled by a sudden sound behind her.

"Have you ever kissed anyone in the rain?" James said, emerging from the shadows.

"No, I haven't," Lilianne replied thoughtfully, "what are you doing here?"

"Same thing you are, looking at the rain and thinking about that book," answered James.

"Wait, what do you know about this book?" she asked desperately. James chuckled at her reaction.

"It's mine," he said simply.

"Then how did it get in my bag? Where's the key to open it? Wait, did _you_ put it in my bag? How do you open it?!?" Lilianne pounced on him with questions.

"Yeah, I slipped it into your bag the day after the Halloween show," James answered.

"Why?" she asked. James came around to her and jauntily perched on the ledge.

"I want to talk to you. So I figured that we could use this to do that," he said

"Okay, so I'm going to write in a diary and that's going to make us talk?" Lilianne was completely confused.

"No, you can write in it, and then leave it someplace where I'll find it. Then _I'll _write in it and put it back. Then, you can find it and read what I wrote back to you and write back. And so on and so forth," explained a somewhat irritated and amused Potter.

"Oh. And where would this mysterious someplace be?" she asked.

"There's a statue of the eight headed harpie right off the common room in the corridor heading towards the portrait. I've charmed it so that the she will lift her skirt when you or I give her the password; just slide it underneath her skirt. No one else can get to it. The password's 'bowl of soup'." James went into thorough explanation.

"Alright, bowl of soup. You're a strange one, you know that?" teased Lilianne.

"It's my pleasure," he said, mock bowing as he got up to leave.

"Wait, I still don't know how to open the book," she called. James paused for a moment and looked back with laughter in his eyes.

"It's a spoken password, I'm sure you can figure it out." He called back. With that, he left the room, his footsteps following him out. Lilianne immediately took the book out of her satchel and whispered "bowl of soup". The book fell open in her hands. She turned to the first smooth, gold gilded page.

_**So I'm not sure how to begin this, but I'll start with this. My name is James Potter. I am a 7**__**th**__** year Gryffindor. I am highly intrigued by you and I know you felt it last night. I like the muggle candy "Starbursts" and am 100 ruled by music. And how are you.?**_

Lilianne was completely perplexed by this odd boy's intentions. Why would he want to talk to her? She was honestly, still left out of the circle. And it was made clear that he and Ellie were a work in progress. Ellie always attracted the guys anyway. Her pretty, coquettish face and slender frame had a way of pulling boys in, every kind. She was a delicate creature that knew she could crush their hearts if she wanted. But it was strange how Ellie never fell into passionate romances. She played the perfectly eligible boys around until she got bored of them, just kind of chewed then up and spat them out. With all these thoughts flying around her head, Lilianne made her way back to her room.

Could you review this time? It would be encouragement for me to actually finish a story this time. I have material to write, I just need to know that someone's reading it. Feedback is welcome. Please. Thank you


	3. The Confirmation

It was once again, Sunday morning as Lilianne slowly walked into the common room. She and James had been writing in the book for several months now. It became a source of relaxation and joy during the stressful exam times. Each felt a slight, built up anticipation every time it was his/her turn to retrieve the book from under the statue. They discussed every topic under the sun. Anytime Lilianne felt stressed, joyful, miserable, or content, James read about it. Their correspondence went beyond changing mood swings or life updates. Those months seemed to go by so quickly as the two rapidly learned about each other.

Lilianne was not a stupid girl. She knew that James wanted more than friendship. Now she needed some confirmation. Lilianne decided to approach Andy, opting for an honest response. She caught the spunky blonde as they were leaving Transfiguration.

"So how have you been Andy?" Lilianne cautiously threw out as the pair walked to lunch.

"Doing fine," Andy replied as she unwrapped the sandwich that she had been saving.

"What have you been up to?" she ventured again.

Andy sighed and stopped walking, "What is it you want exactly?"

"Me? I'm just chatting with a dear friend," she denied innocently, knowing that Andy wasn't believing a word she was saying.

"I'm not stupid. You're up to something. Come on, you're keeping me from my food, and trust me, that's not a good idea. Let's cut to the chase, what is it that you want?" said Andy as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Okay, okay, well, you know James?" Lilianne began.

"Yes dumbass. Of course I know James, he and Ellie are so cute together," Andy interjected, "although, sometimes, I think he's a little pathetic because he's so desperate for Ellie. I mean, she's pretty, but he's fallen hard for her and anyone can see it, he's so obvious."

"Ahh," she was at a loss for words as she tried to reword her thoughts.

"Anyway, what did you want with James?" asked Andy.

"Well, we have sort of began talking recently," Lilianne said carefully.

"What do you mean?" Andy said, slowing her steps.

"I just, well, I'm not sure but we've been talking a lot," she replied helplessly.

"Well, don't worry about it, James flirts with anything and everything," Andy said, obviously unworried, "don't take it seriously, it doesn't mean anything."

"But-" Lilianne objected, trying to explain.

"But nothing, you've got better things to think about Lilianne, don't worry about James, he's just a flirt and totally into Ellie," Andy hushed her in what she thought was a reassuring way. But as Lilianne walked into the cafeteria, her mind was clear. The chat with Andy did not go as she thought it would, but it was effective nonetheless. There was now no doubt in her mind that James was not falling over Ellie, and he wasn't _just_ flirting with her. There was more going on with him and she wasn't going to let Andy make her think otherwise.

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To my two dear reviewers, thank you so much. I would probably have quit this story by now if it wasn't for you two.

Lily is in her 5th year. This is a real story, so I'm never gonna run out of material.

Please read and review, it gives me motivation to finish.

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	4. Intentions Become Clear

The conversations grew deeper and deeper as the days went by. Before either of them knew it, Christmas was upon them. The days were now cold and many of the students had returned home for the holidays. All of Lilianne's friends had gone home and James as well. Lilianne didn't want to go back and face the still silence of her house without her rambunctious sister. She had arranged to stay at the school. The remaining students took comfort in the warm toasty glow from the fireplaces in the common rooms. It was on one such evening that Lilianne found herself curled up on a comfy armchair enjoying the pleasant crackle of the fire. She was engaged in her current read, "Pride and Prejudice". A noise at the window caught her attention and she looked up to see the owl pecking on the glass. Lilianne stood to let it in.

As the dark brown owl flew away into the distance, Lilianne opened the letter to see who had written her.

Dear Lily,

This is James. It feels strange to write you by normal way, I mean owl post. But I needed to reach you before holidays were over and I wasn't sure if I would get to you in time with the diary. Could I talk to you at about 7:30 tomorrow night? Look for me in the Gryffindor common room fire. If anyone else is there, tell them that James Potter will personally be responsible for their demise if they don't leave. Or whatever polite way you would like to phrase that.

-James

Before he signed his name, there were clearly visible signs of scratching out and line drawing through the space above his name. Apparently, he had had trouble deciding how to close the letter. Traces of words such as, "yours truly" and "sincerely" and "your friend" and "respectfully" could still be seen under the marks.

Lilianne laid back in her chair and looked out the window again. The owl was long gone now, but she wished that she had written a response. It would have been less of a response and more of a questionnaire for now Lilianne was very, very curious. Questions began to burst through her mind again as they tended to do when the subject of James Potter came up. What would he want to talk about? Is something wrong? Was this a joke? Should she wear something nice? What could it possible be?? And where on earth did he get the name Lily from?!?!

After a long day of anticipation and quiet brooding, 7:30 did arrive and Lilianne did wear a nice red sweater. She sat in front of the fire and made sure again that no one was around. After a few minutes, James's head popped into the fire.

"What's wrong? Is everything okay? Are you having problems with homework?" Lilianne rushed to ask.

"Well, hello to you too. Happy Christmas and Lily, does it look like I ever have problems with school work?" replied James quite humorously.

"Well, no. What did you need to talk about then?" she asked again.

"Come on Lily, what's your hurry? Am I not allowed to just talk to you for a little while? Does something have to be wrong?" he asked tentatively.

"Of course not, I just. You just sounded urgent in the letter. How have you been?" said Lilianne.

"Oh the holidays are the holidays, cooped up in the house with a million little children, gnomes, and dogs. Food's been good but I don't know how much longer I can take Aunt Mildy's dog biscuits. Lily, I keep telling her, they aren't for people." James explained exasperatedly.

"Why do you keep doing that? You have managed to insert that that name into every other sentence!" she finally exploded.

"I can't call you Lily? Why not? I like it," James whined good naturedly.

"No, I just. Please don't call me that," she added as an afterthought, "Jan- someone, someone used to call me that," she said sadly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know," he hastily apologized.

"It's okay, I'll get over it eventually but I just, not yet please," pleaded Lilianne.

"Lilianne, it's fine, I won't push you, I just want you to be happy," James assured her. The two stayed in moderately awkward yet comfortable silence. Finally, Lilianne broke the quiet air.

"What did you need to talk about?" she asked softly.

"Well, I mean, I don't _need_ to, I just _wanted_ to ask you something, you know it's a funny thi-," he began to ramble nervously.

"James? Stop talking. Now breathe and start again. What is it? You can tell me anything," Lilianne calmed him down.

"So I was thinking that, um, I really like talking to you," he began, taking a big breath.

"Alright, I like talking to you, too," she responded, waiting for him to continue.

"And I like you," he tentatively ventured.

"Um, oh, I-," Lilianne started.

"And I thought that maybe we should hang out," James interrupted.

"Oh?" she said.

"So, I, uh, would you like to go on a date sometime?" he finally blurted out.

"Oh, wow. Yes, yes, I would like that," Lilianne answered with feelings of elation beginning to burst.

"Alright! Okay, we'll figure out time and place later," James declared energetically, his earlier nerves banished for good.

"Well, I have to go down to dinner but I'll talk to you later," she stood up to leave.

"Sure. Here, I'll owl you or something, alright?" he said.

"Yeah, bye!" Lilianne said.

"Bye," and with that James's head disappeared into the flames again.

As Lilianne began her trek downstairs, she thought up in her head all the possible, most satisfying ways to tell Andy 'I told you so'. All the while down she was smiling, on every last step.

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Thanks to my reviewers and please continue to

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	5. The Plotting Begins

But as school began again, Lilianne soon realized that she had bigger problems than "I told you so". She remembered about Ellie. First, she was conflicted by the thought that perhaps she was getting sloppy seconds. Then she began to wonder if James was playing her and Ellie around. Who knew if there were more? She continued to worry because Ellie was her friend and she could possibly still have feelings for James. Caught up in her dilemma, Lilianne did not notice when she ran into to Beth. Beth was one of her friends from Hufflepuff. In this, she wasn't friends with many Gryffindors except for Lilianne and some of her year mates. They were all friends to a certain degree, but Beth did not generally spend time with the Gryffindors. But Lilianne and Beth had a closer friendship; even when Jana was still there, the two girls had had a special bond.

"Whoa Lilianne, watch where you're going," Beth joked, "Snape might rip out your entrails if you did something like that," Lilianne started laughing as she straightened up to greet her friend.

"Hey Beth, wow, I just walked straight into the answer to my problems. Alright, now if I told you a secret, would you be able to help me?" Lilianne said quickly.

"Well, it depends. What is it?" she tried to ask neutrally.

"No, no maybes. No conditions, I need to know for sure that you can keep a secret," Lilianne said firmly.

"Alright, alright, I promise that I won't tell anyone," Beth said. And as the other girl looked into her eyes and searched, she knew that she could trust her not to say a word. She took a big breath and began.

"Well, see, erm, well, James sorta, well, he sorta askedmeout," muttered Lilianne hurriedly.

"What? Wait, honestly? When did this happen? I didn't even know he liked you? Whaaaat? What about Ellie?" Beth said confusedly.

"I don't know about Ellie! That's my problem. Do you think you could maybe find out if she still has feelings for him? I mean, like strong feelings," she asked reluctantly for Lilianne was a proud girl and not very inclined to ask people for help readily.

"I don't know, how would I do that?" said Beth quizzically. She was a girl who could have easily ended up in Ravenclaw for her excellent grades. Beth certainly fit the profile of Ravenclaw; her thirst for knowledge and powerful brain made her one of the top students in her year. But she was fiercely loyal and a creature of simple comforts. She could be more than happily content with a warm fire, a box of chocolates, and a nice book. Beth was a warm person to whom it was easy to unload one's problems to.

"Well, let's see… you're not very close to Ellie so you couldn't outright ask her or it would seem strange. The only person that Ellie really confides in is Andy- god only knows why- so she would have to ask her," Lilianne reasoned.

"So you tell Andy that James likes you and then ask her to see if Ellie still likes him. Where do I come in?" asked Beth confusedly.

"No, I don't really trust her well enough to help me. So we need to make up some bogus reason, something that sounds juicy, because Andy would never pass up a chance to get in on a secret. So you're going to tell her a story about a Ravenclaw having a crush on James and tell her that you promised her that you'd find out for her," Lilianne concluded.

"Okay, I can do that. I tell Andy about a Ravenclaw that likes James. Then I ask her to find out if Ellie still has strong feelings for James. Is that it?" she repeated.

"Yes, good. That's all I can think of to do right now, I don't know what else to do," the redhead sighed.

"It'll be fine sweetie," she repeated her now famous line, "everything is going to be fine,"

"I sure hope so," Lilianne replied. The two girls stood from the niche they were comfortably crouched in and went to their next class.

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Oh my god, people are actually reviewing? Thank you soo much! All of you. I never get reviews! I love you all. THIS much! Except more!

I know that they are shorter chapters, but I'm updating more often.

-Scp- : there's a story about the name "Lily" later. but here's a hint, the name she was trying to complete during her outburst was "Jana".

-Rockstar-101 : Lily is in her 5th year.


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